to see all of the local news in other markets. >> manchester united was beckham's number, number 7. we are always researching around here. i got that off of somebody on twitter, by the way. the news continues. "cnn newsroom" begins right now with kyra phillips. >> good morning, guys. it's 9:00 a.m. on the east coast and 6:00 a.m. on the west coast. here is what we are talking about this morning. >> the space shuttle pulls into port for the last time. its voyage at an end. >> pulls into port and lands in the history books. we will have the latest on the predawn ending to the shuttle program. a vicious heat wave blamed for at least 22 deaths in the central u.s. the eastern part of the country now bracing for triple digit temps. another threat lurking as close as your faucet. terror experts now say private utilities in the u.s. may be the next target. we begin with two breaking sports stories this morning. it's decision day for the 2011

nfl season after four-month labor lockout between players and owners, well, a key vote could break the stalemate. and we're also learning this. tiger woods fires his long time caddie steve williams and guess what? he speaks out about the abrupt move. we will hear from the caddie in just five minutes. millions of pro football fans are hoping today, well, that it will be the day the nfl's labor lockout will end. players and owners expected to vote on a deal that will hopefully say the 2011 season. david mattingly is live in atlanta where the negotiations are going on. what is the word, david? >> reporter: kyra, everyone watching and waiting so far. the players ended yesterday without having a final vote. if they vote today, it will take at least half of the players voting yes for the collective bargaining agreement. then all eyes will be here on atlanta where the owners will be meeting about an hour from now. it will take 75% of those owners, that is 24 out of the 32, to ratify this.

if that happens and the season goes on. but everyone is very mindful right now, the clock is running out. the chicago bears are supposed to start training camp tomorrow. they are going to play the rams august 7th. that is the first sunday in august. that will be the first preseason game of the year. the hall of fame game in ohio. everyone wondering if they can get it done today. they might be able to keep this schedule intact. but if it goes a few days, maybe even a week longer, then they are going to have to start having real concerns and maybe even losing some money as they have to start adjusting this schedule down the road. right now all fans are watching and saying we're ready for some football. the players and owners saying the same thing. they just have to be able to vote and reach that final agreement. kyra? >> we are waiting. let us know as soon as you know something, david. thanks. now the bombshell that is reverb brsrberatining around th world. tiger woods fires his long time caddie of 12 years steve

williams. dozens of wins and sex scandals that tiger has yet to recover from. this morning, williams says he is disappointed and shocked by the move. >> i think you know, when you're great friends with somebody and a situation like this occurs, i mean, you know, you, obviously, lose some kind of respect and that is respect is regained back thu time. i mean, that's just sort of how it works, i guess. >> cnn international's candy reid has more now on tiger woods and caddie steve williams parting ways. >> reporter: thanks very much. for 12 years, tiger woods and steve williams formed the most successful partnership in golf but that relationship came to an end on wednesday, as tiger announced on his website that it was time for a change. 47-year-old williams first carried woods' bag in 1999 and helped the former world number one to 72 titles overall, including 13 majors. but tiger's game has been in decline since his private life unraveled and since fallen to

number 20 in the world rankings and hasn't won a tournament since the end of 2009. despite that, williams has stuck by him through thick and then. although because of tigers recent injury problems, the new zealand er has worked with adam scott the la two majors. tiger who apped in each other's wedding announced i want to express my deepest gratitude to stevie for all of his help, but i think it's time for a change. stevie is standing caddie and a friend and has been instrumental in many of my accomplishments. i wish him great success in the future. tiger seemed to indicate it was a amicable split, the quote on williams website seemed less so. this is what he said. after 13 years of loyal service, needless to say this came as a shock. given the circumstances of the past 18 months working through tiger's scandal and new coach and with it a major swing change and tiger battling through injuries, i am very disappointed to end our very successful

partnership at this time. i have had the opportunity to work of late for australian adam scott and now caddie for him on a permanent basis. coming up in a few minutes, we will hear more from steve williams. also christine brennan with the "usa today" are talk with us live on her take on tiger's future and why he is making these decisions. now the nation's debt crisis. 11 days until the government runs out of money and lawmakers are quickly running out of options. on capitol hill, hopes appear to be fading for the bipartisan plan proposed by the gang of six. conservatives rejecting the tax increases and liberals won't accept cuts to entitlement programs. now members of both parties are turning back to the mcconnell-reid plan. it could dodge the deadline and prevent the country from running out of money. under the proposal, the president raises the ceiling and lawmakers would agree to the spending cuts later. then this option. some lawmakers want to cherry-pick elements of both proposals and then form a new

one. meanwhile, the clock continues to tick. brianna keilar is at the white house. what is the president doing to keep things moving forward? >> reporter: obviously, the conversations behind the scenes still ongoing. he did have discussions yesterday separately with democratic and republican leaders in congress. but the headline coming out of that was that there was no break-through. that is pretty significant. now, something that has changed from the president's perspective, we learned from the white house yesterday, is an idea of putting in place a short-term stop-gap measure. maybe something just for a few days. you remember, kyra, the president had said he would not sign a 30-day, 60-day, 90-day short-term measure so this is a bit of a reversal but from the white house's perspective they only want to do this if there is a framework. they are pushing for something big. trils of dollars in deficit savings the course of ten years.

reminder of the moving parts that a deal like that would require the next several days major spending cuts, tax reform, entitlement reform and if democrats in the white house were to get their way, tax increases. you can see that is pretty much a heavy lift and so you still have a lot of people looking to a more modest deal that the top democrat and republican in the senate, harry reid and mitchell mcconnell are trying to work out which would be more spending cuts and perhaps more modest and perhaps giving the president the unenviable position to have to increase the debtcele himself with a minority support from congress. >> brianna keilar, thanks. government is scrambling to pay its bills here is something americans don't want to hear. billions of dollars in your tax money is being wasted in afghanistan or worse. a new federal audit says that some of that cash may be funding, are you ready for this? the same insurgency that is killing americans. chris lawrence is at the pentagon. chris, give us the details. >> reporter: they are not good,

kyra. this audit by the inspector general shows that ten years into this war, the u.s. only has limited visibility over billions of dollars once we send it to afghanistan. what that does is it leaves the money vulnerable to fraud and even worse, quote, being diverted to insurgents. how much money are we talking about here? the u.s. has spent about $70 billion in afghanistan security and development projects and the audit shows that as much as $10 million every day, maybe smuggled out of afghanistan. how does that happen? well, when afghan government officials leech the country, no one is checking how much cash they are carrying with them. and the audit shows that afghan officials have no intention at all of scanning their cash through those electronic currency counters. the u.s. would be able to keep better oversight, but u.s. officials are not allowed access to the part of the airport where

the vips go through and president hamid karzai has now banned u.s. treasury officials from working with the afghan central bank. amid all this, president obama and the obama administration are now asking for another $17 billion in cash to send to afghanistan reconstruction projects. even some democrats are wondering at this point if we're not just throwing good money after bad. we spoke with senator claire mccaskill who has been keeping an eye on iraq and afghanistan reconstruction projects for years. >> i know the troops are -- are doing everything they are being asked to do and in return, we open them a duty to make sure that american dollars are not in any way flowing to the enemy. if they are not willing to allow us to look over their shoulder as this money flows into the afghanistan economy, then we ought to say to them maybe it's time we don't let that money flow. >> reporter: one of the problems

is had is they use informal financial institutions instead of banks in afghanistan. they sort of operate outside the law. there was one instance in the report that says a u.s. contractor tried to transfer about $3 billion, but the hiwala kept the money and refused to distribute it to the communities it was actually intended for. >> we will follow the investigation into this issue. chris, thanks. michele bachman and her migraine headaches. paul, why is this still a story? >> reporter: still a story for a couple of reasons. the congresswoman from minnesota and presidential candidate yesterday released a letter from her doctor to better explain her migraines. this all started tuesday in a report that highlighted those migraines and that sparked questions about whether she would be fit to serve as physically if she were elected. so they puts out a letter from her doctor yesterday. the attending physician for the u.s. congress. he said overall she is in good

general health and he said the migraines occur infrequently of known trigger factors which you're aware of and now how to avoid. here is what happened last night. tim pawlenty, former governor of minnesota, also running for the white house. him and bachmann battling it out. this is what he said last night of michele bachman. it's mostly a side show. nearly in the day he said candidate have to be able to demonstrate they can do all of the job all of the time. looks like maybe he was walking back the comments a little bit. he said about the earlier comments i was talking about all of the candidates, not just michele bachman. i guess stay tuned on that story. >> i feel like i was watching an "snl" skit. take a look. >> chronic pain. my family struggling to make end's meet, food and gas prices going up. even keeping my job was iffy. then i learned about a new miracle drug made in washington,

d.c. spenditol. >> paul, what is the deal? >> reporter: this is from a group called concern women for american. saying they are spending $1.5 million on this spoof. it looks like a pharmaceutical ad. they are conservative group and in favor of cut, cap and balance and putting this out on national cable and in crucial states. an interesting way to get your message out in this political battle over the debt ceiling and those kind of matters. >> paul, thanks. your next political update in an hour. always get all of the political news 24/7 at cnn/politics.com. all right. if you watch top chef you're probably familiar with the surprise intret judge. celebrity judge. they went a different route on australia's master chef program. and you're never going to believe who agreed to do it. monita has all of the details.

this is a talker! >> reporter: i love this story. i was at a cooking class this past weekend. i imagine all of the pressure you can be in when you're in that hot kitchen. now, imagine if you are serving your dish to the dalai lama and that is what happened to the contestants at master chef australia. they found out that the dolalai lama would be tasting their food and judging but being a buddhist monk he doesn't judge anything or anyone. he served up slang curry. he said they tried their best and interesting but he says judging anyone goes against all of his beliefs. he said everyone was having a good time. >> did they meditate before the meal? >> i think they would have to. imagine the pressure. the dalai lama sitting out there sitting out there saying your

food, not so much. he did it say his favorite food was cheese and bread so i like him already. >> the simple man. he represents exactly what he eats. kim kardashian is taking on old navy. she is saying the ads have encroached on her image and now lawyers are involved. i love that my daughter's part fish. but when she got asthma, all i could do was worry ! specialists, lots of doctors, lots of advice... and my hands were full. i couldn't sort through it all. with unitedhealthcare, it's different. we have access to great specialists, and our pediatrician gets all the information. everyone works as a team. and i only need to talk to one person about her care.

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checking stories across the country. kansas city, missouri the sweltering heat may have contributed to 13 deaths already. cooling centers open around the city. the brutal temps expected to continue through the end of the month. fall river, mass, maybe you recall this story from last month. a woman who drowned in a busy public pool and her body sad at the bottom of that pool for more than two days and then she was discovered. a report says that cloudy water may be partly to blame for not finding her. three people resigned over this including a regional director. in rochester, new york, take a look at this. >> abby wambach! >> oh, yeah. you wouldn't expect anything less than a warm homecoming for the women's world cup scoring. she was one of the stars of the u.s. team that came in second to japan at the world cup. this morning, we are digging

deeper into a new terror warning issued by the department of homeland security. the possible targets could be the private utilities that provide such basics for all of us as clean water and electricity. and nuclear power plants could be at risk as well. barbara starr is at the pentagon. barbara, what are the feds looking at specifically? >> reporter: well, you know, ever since the killing of osama bin laden, certainly a lot of concern and worry about what al qaeda might be up to next. a lot of concern about their focus on targeting u.s. interests abroad. this is the latest report from the department of homeland security. a bulletin warning that public utilities here at home may be at risk. and you're right. we are talking about everything from water, sewer, to power plant, including nuclear power plant utilities. the department of homeland security warning power plant operators to be on the lookout. let me tell you what dhs, the department of homeland security

is saying about all of this. i want to quote very specifically. a department official telling cnn, quote, while dhs has no specific, credible, intelligence of an imminent threat posed to private-sector utilities several recent incidents highlight the ongoing threat to infrastructure from insiders and outsiders seeking facility specific information that might be exploite exploited in an attack. they are saying you have to be on the look jew for employees that might pose a threat inside and attacking computer systems and people from the outside trying to gain access. nothing specific. but a continuous warning to keep this on everybody's radar. you know, the report highlighted a really interesting case where an american citizen was arrested in yemen, suspected of being an al qaeda operative and they learned had he worked in several u.s. utility sites as a low

level maintenance worker doing no sensitive work, but an al qaeda suspect, still working in the american utility system. kyra? >> wow. barbara starr from the pentagon, thanks. coming up, fans of the show "entourage" take heart. sure the hbo's show final season but the cast says the show will live on. we will explain. someone called the tax man. never before seen photos of the beatles from 1964 sell at an auction for $350,000!

looks like "entourage" will live on. the show's final season cast

member kevin connelly was talking movie. >> you are going to get a movie. it's a matter of when and we want to do it the right way. you can go hammer one out but we don't want to end a successful eight-year run on a show with a crappy movie. >> the normal cheeky actress mila kunis has less so in "friends with benefits." that is not her backside in the movie. they used a body double. kunis said she will not let it hang out on the film just yet. never before seen photos of the beatles in 1964 from their first performance in the u.s. at the washington coliseum. the pictures went for more than $350,000 at a new york auction. first, the cheating scandal. then the multimillion dollar divorce. now tiger woods fires his long time caddie steve williams. a friendship that spanned 12 years.

woods announced the move yesterday. and this morning, williams spoke out. >> i was caddying for adam scott at the at&t national about three weeks ago in philadelphia. tiger wasn't playing in that tournament but he came up to melt with me after the tournament was complete on sunday and that is when the news was made to me. >> "usa today" sports columnist christine brennan is joining us on the phone. christine, you have so many sources within the sports world. why do you think tiger let him go? it's hard to know what tiger is many things these days. whether he is wiping the slate clean or wants to blame others for his trouble. he split with his wife, management company and coach and now his caddie who you say was a close friend. i think it shows once again that tiger is in complete disarray but i also think we have to say there is so much about what we don't know what is going on

inside of team tiger or inside of tiger's head and i think this only adds to those questions. >> this is a caddie that had his back throughout the entire scandal. never said a scathing thing about him. and he addresses the issue of respect in the interview. let's take a listen. >> i think when you're great friends with somebody and a situation like this occurs, i mean, you know, you obviously lose some kind of respect and that sort of respect must be gained back through time. i mean, that's just sort of how it works, i guess. >> but, christine, now that tiger it has let him go, do you think that could change? could we be seeing possibly coming forward a tell-all book? >> i think that's a very good question and it's likely. i mean, steve williams has been very, very loyal. he has even taken cameras out of photographers hands and thrown them in lakes during golf tournaments to protect tiger. so it would be unlikely on one level to see that he would do

something like that. you know, there have been stories of reports of payoffs to some of the women, allegedly involved in tiger's other scandals and, you know, would tiger pay off stevie? i don't know. but i think there has to be a question here of what we are going to hear and because the tabloids especially are so interested in tiger's life. stevie williams knows almost everything about tiger's life. >> it would be a kiss and tell-all book that would be pretty soilealacious to say the least. christine, interesting to see how this unfolds. thanks for calling in. >> thank you, kyra. >> you bet. it's kim kardashian against old navy. the reality star says that the retailer has gone too far in its ads. alison kosik is at the new york stock exchange with a few of the details and i guess the pictures that talk about this dispute. i guess they say it all. >> reporter: they do. let me give you the background. old navy used a model in a

commercial take looks like kim kardashi kardashian. kim said she looks too much like her. she is suing old navy for unspecified damages. translation? a lot of money. she wants the company to stop using the ad with this look-alike model. kardashian already endorses several companies dazzle is a shoe line, a skin line and consumers may be confused by the old navy ads and what she endorses. what do you think? the woman in the old navy ads has her hair pulled back to the side there. kim is to the other side. what do you think, kyra? striking resemblance? >> yeah. they look pretty much alike. >> reporter: they look alike, right? kardashian is shoes old navy saying they styled the molged to look like her and what she is upset about. i don't know. do you think this is mayor? it's not the model's fault she looks like kardashian. this model has every right to go ahead and work and endorse

whatever she wants. but just because she looks like kim kardashian, i don't know, is that fair? >> a discussion to be taken to a deeper level. it's hard for me to get excited about this. i got to say, i don't follow this kind of stuff, alison. that's why i'm leaving it to you! >> reporter: okay we will leave the question open. how about that? >> there you go. alison, thanks. in this economy, it be can tough to find a job. now is your chance to be seen and heard. give your 30-second pitch on our air. tell us why someone should hire you. send us an e-mail to the address on your screen and you may get your chance at 10:00 a.m. eastern republican the media scandal that rah engulfed the murdoch empire. we will have the latest coming up. don't forget if you're walking away from the tv, it doesn't mean you have to stop watching. you can keep streaming on cnn. you can actually grab your ipad

and check out cnn.com/video. download the free app and there you go. you can live stream, take us with you anywhere you will.

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checking top stories. temps could hit record highs in the midwest and the east. the national weather service says at least 22 deaths may be linked to the heat now. the debt ceiling decline approaches. conservatives reject the tax increases. and cuts to the entitlement programs. more on the widening media jajeds in great britain. police have uncovered enough information to expand the investigation to other companies and rupert murdoch is back in the united states after facing tough questions from members of the british parliament. analysts believe murdoch and his son james managed to cape the damage to their company news corp. but the damage is

jaw-dropping as how sleazy some of tactics were. cnn a cnn's deborah feyerick. >> reporter: like the "news of the world" it appears every one everywhere was fair game. actors. business tycoons. royals. prime ministers. politicians. all potential front page fodder caught up in a type of scandal driven journalism that bordered on blood sport. allegedly involving hacking, tracking and outright bribes. >> they very much crossed the line and they didn't just do it once or twice. we are not talking about a single rogue reporter. apparently, it happened at least 4,000 times. >> reporter: media executive bonnie fuller has been the driving force behind magazines like "star" "us weekly." you have a much stronger

takedown culture in the british tabloids. they are much nastier than anything you would find there and they do look to tear down people. >> reporter: the journalist were able to do that. it's not that complicated, not that hard? john walked us through the most common techniques like phone hacking, shockingly easy. >> most people don't change their pin or their passwords. once they were able to correlate a specific phone number with a specific carrier, all they had was dial into that voice mailbox and enter the default pin. >> reporter: another technique? something called pinging, using cell phones and cell towers like gps to track someone's movements and locations. >> the carriers know pretty much exactly where you are within a few square meters based on the cell phone towers that your phone is connected to. >> reporter: that information is usually hacked or accessed through bribes. after all, bribing anyone with any access to famous people is

allegedly a long used tabloid technique. as is something the british called blagging, impersonating someone to gain confidential data. >> their best tool is the phone because people will say all kinds of things and give up all kinds of information. if your tone is correct, if your demeanor is proper, if you sound like you deserve the information, you won. >> reporter: the reality? once information exists in digital form on the internationinternet or phones, experts say it's game over. anyone who knows what they are doing, can figure out how to get it. kyra, in some cases, reporters allegedly hacked information themselves but they also relied heavily it seems on private investigators who were able to get confidential information, able to get it from both phone companies, but also government databases. the public buys it up.

they have a role in this too. if they don't buy it, people don't report it. >> deb, thanks. a new op-ed says hold on. it performs a valuable service and we will talk to the guy who wrote it next. a young man with cerebral palsy. he can't walk, he can't talk but he has found his voice in a very special place. his incredible story next. ooo whatcha got there? uh oh, sesame stir fry from lucky dynasty. oh, me too! but mine's lean cuisine, so no preservatives. [ female announcer ] lean cuisine has 90 dishes with no preservatives and quality ingredients like farm-picked broccoli and tender white meat chicken. lean cuisine.

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this is one of those stories that will not only make your day, but it will inspire you. lucas mckarlty has cerebral palsy. he can't walk, he can't talk, but he has found his voice in a much different way. >> he had no problem. no problem fitting in with black

people. they don't give him no extra, you know, special treatment. no, no. i mean if he want to go in the choir stand they don't get his hand and lead him up there. he walk on his knee and get in the choir stand. to him, he don't feel like he is handicapped around here. >> you want to know more about this young man when you see that part. tommy, you actually did a six-minute piece that you actually can see on cnn.com but we want to talk about how you found the story and why. here is historically the mississippi delta. one of the most segregated area and still is in many ways. a young white boy with cerebral palsy. he knows what it's like to be discriminated against. these two, i guess, groups of people come together his arms in the air the way he is, it doesn't matter. >> this is one of the churches in mississippi where shouting and falling out, they say, is encouraged. so he fits right in at this church, definitely.

>> why this church? why this pastor? interesting history here. >> his grandfather owned a ca catfish farm that is doing well down there. the pastor worked for his grandfather. one day, actually the pastor's son died in a car accident and asked lucas came to the funeral and asked if he could take lucas to church and it went from there. >> the rest is history. his speech pathologist julie is fantastic and i love what she describes what this church has done for lucas. let's listen. >> i'm convinced he is singing the words and even though they are not articulated in a manner that you can understand them, he knows every word that he is singing and he is singing them from his heart. ♪ >> she even asked him, you know, tommy are you angry about your condition. he said it's why i cry sometimes, but when i sing, when

i'm a part of this music, music with music, i feel right. but he still says he doesn't feel right with god. that's what is interesting. >> that's right. it's tough. i think a lot of people can relate to that struggle, finding their faith throughout their lives and given, you know, a condition like he was born with, i think the struggle is particularly hard for him and he is still sort of grappling that but he has found a place where he does fit in and i think he has found a little faith in that congregation. >> cnn.com you can see the entire piece. so well done, tommy. thanks so much. >> thank you. what is happening to this glij connectic bridge in connecticut some the guys are shaving it. i'll tell you why in a minute. ever wonder what this costs you as a taxpayer? millions? tens of millions? hundreds of millions? not a single cent. the united states postal service doesn't run on your tax dollars. it's funded solely by stamps and postage.

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checking stories across the country. near cap hatteras, north carolina, a terrifying moment for a mom and her daughter. playing in less than two feet of water, the 6-year-old girl got bitten by a shark in front of her mother. the girl is in critical condition but apparently well enough to tell her parents she hated sharks. bill is doing what he does best. giving blood. he was honored for donating 65 gallons of blood since 1984. it was enough to help about 1,500 people through the years. and enough blood to fill about two bathtubs, by the way. so hot in new haven, connecticut, that this bridge has been swollen shut.

grand avenue bridge is a swing bridge that opens to let boats go through the river below. the problem is the heat has caused the bridge to expand and is now stuck. crews are out there trying to shave about an inch off of it to get it open again before the weekend. president of somalia is begging for the world's help in dealing with the disastrous famine. the state department has announced $28 million in aid. the big picture, it's a drop in the bucket. cnn's david mckenzie joins us now from kenya now. somolians are fleeing and celebrate for help. how much money do they need to even make a fraction of a difference there? >> reporter: well, kyra, 20,000,000 dollars the u.s. is giving is a drop in the bucket because there is a shortfall of about $800 million in this fight

to help the people here in kenya, to help the people in somalia. basically, what is happening is somolians are streaming across the border from two regions where the un has declared a famine. these are people in these camps have come here recently. i have been speaking to some of them here this afternoon. they say they haven't got the help they need. they have to trek a long way for water and even there, they have to beg for it effectively. they are getting food, but the food isn't enough. and really their situation is very desperate. a real humanitarian tragedy here in this part of kenya. they are flowing from somalia. kyra? >> david mckenzie there live for us just outside the refugee camp. if you want to help the famine victims in somalia, check out intact your world at cnn.com.

weather anchors and reporters even sweating over how to describe the heat. how hot is it? we will ask jeanne moos. .

let's talk about some of the stories that will be making headlines later today. 11:00 eastern former pakistan president pervez musharraf gives a speech. at noon the crew of space shuttle "atlantis" will hold a news conference to talk about their final mission. "atlantis" landed at kennedy space center around 6:00 this morning ending the 30-year

program. house republicans are call ing to push the cut cap balance bill. a news conference at 12:45 eastern. let's go ahead and check in first with kate bolduan in washington. kate? >> lawmakers and the white house are all watching the clock, still looking for a way out of this debt ceiling crisis we find ourselves in still today. how will they break the log jam in or at the top of the hour. also coming up in the next hour, a minnesota community divided by a school district's curriculum policy on sexual orientation. now a federal investigation and also the threat of a lawsuit that is pending by two civil rights groups. we're going to have that full story coming up in the next hour. and i'm david mattingly in atlanta. will the nfl sign a labor agreement? there is a lot of hope going around that today could be the day and the season goes off without a hitch. i'll have that story at the top of the hour. all right, guys. thanks a lot. also ahead, tactics like those

uncovered at "news of the world" don't help tabloids' shady image. but a new op-ed says, hold on. the tabs actually perform a valuable service. we're going to talk to the professor who wrote it. de, so you get the same coverage, often for less. wow! that is huge! [ disco playing ] and this is to remind you that you could save hundreds! yeah, that'll certainly stick with me. we'll take it. go, big money! i mean, go. it's your break, honey. same coverage, more savings. now, that's progressive. call or click today. ♪ let me make you smile ♪ let me do a few tricks ♪ some old and then some new tricks ♪ ♪ i'm very versatile ♪ so let me entertain you ♪ and we'll have a real good time ♪

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still no decision with regard to the debt ceiling, as you can imagine. just like the debate continues to get fiery, so does all the language out of the mouths of the politicians, going back and forth. harry reid on the floor right

now pretty much lashing out at house republicans. let's go ahead and listen in for a minute. >> positions. sometimes radical positions forsaking the good of the nation. the american people expect us to find common ground no matter how difficult it may seem. every reasonable voice in america has warned us that defaulting on this nation's financial obligations would not only be a blight on our reputation, but precipitate a global economic crisis that we have never, ever seen. these warnings have come from the banking industry and the business community. they come from our finest economists and shrewdest investors. >> the august 2nd deadline looming, we are still waiting to see if, indeed, we'll get a decision. today's "big play." well, first it was his wife, elin. now it's tiger woods that's divorcing from his long-time caddie, steve williams.

and williams is speaking out. he said he's disappointed and shocked that he was fired by woods after 12 years of service and on top of that, being so loyal to tiger throughout the whole sex scandal. williams says the scandal made him lose respect for woods and so far tiger has not announced a replacement caddie. baseball's highlight of the night comes from the stands in arizona. this young diamondbacks fan gets a souvenir ball from the team's dugout. pretty cool, huh? he celebrates. he's showing it to everybody. then he realizes there's a younger fan right there, a little upset, because he didn't get the ball. but check it out. mr. generosity goes to the kid in tears, gives him the ball and the random act of kindness, it pays off with an autographed bat from the team. then there's the coolest penalty kick you may ever see. it went quickly, didn't it? hold on. we got the slow-mo. sunday's match between the united arab emirates and lebanon is drawing a lot of controversy. when up 6-2, the kicker, watch

this. he backheels for the score. his coach was not pleased with the, coat, disrespectful show of sportsmanship. as you can imagine, this video clip is collecting web hits like you wouldn't believe. all right. with nearly half the country broiling in triple digit temperatures, weather anchors and reporters are sweating over how to describe the horrendous heat. so how hot is it? just ask jeanne moos. >> reporter: you know it's really, really hot when the weather forecast reads like a romance novel. >> what a scorcher. >> swelters. >> you love the hot weather. >> i love it. >> because you are hot. >> reporter: sometimes the word "hot" just doesn't generate enough heat. >> pressure cooker. >> reporter: especially if you're a weather man looking for new ways to say the same old thing. >> we really got some blow torching heat coming for tomorrow. tomorrow we are back on the burner. not the back burner. we're back on the burner. >> oh, do the wheels come off the wagon. >> reporter: while we're all

gasping for air like fish out of water, reporters are taking the temperature on the grass. >> 155 degrees. >> reporter: in a new york subway. >> the temperature reads 100 degrees. >> reporter: on a swing? >> 131 degrees. >> reporter: we're talking heat so oppressive, sometimes it's hard to spit out the word. >> that means the heat indices -- the heat -- heat and humidity combined -- >> reporter: the current heat wave has been christened with a four-letter word, meaning an area of high pressure that's compressing hot, moist air beneath it. >> we'll return now to that heat dome. >> when we say heat dome. >> this whole hot dome. >> this big dome. >> reporter: all this talk of domes conge domes congers up visions of heat radiating ufos. >> a giant heat dome surrounded by a ring of fire. ♪ i fell into a burning ring of fire ♪ >> reporter: put some water on it. the heat wave is alive. >> shows the heat gobbling

upmost of the country like a virus. >> reporter: but if you want to see the newscasters most appropriately dressed for the heat wave. >> welcome to naked news in brief. >> reporter: in brief, even they are covering. >> what officials call a heat dome. >> reporter: at least the heat dome left al roker feeling hot. >> when will it end? al has some answers. >> reporter: it's not every day al gets labeled too hot to handle. the heat wave brings out a wave of weather chefs. >> we put this egg in this pan under the sun for about an hour. this is the result. it's fried to the pan. >> reporter: the julia child of weather reporting is abc's matt gotman cooking steaks. >> we'll see if we can cook it on the dash board of this car. dashboard reads 151 degrees. we came back about two hours later. it's probably about medium well. >> reporter: well done, matt. now let's see you eat it ♪ and it burns, burns, burns >> reporter: jeanne moez, cnn, new york. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

it's today today on the east coast. 7:00 a.m. out west. a new warning from u.s. terror chiefs. they say private utilities in the u.s. may be the next target. water, electricity, even nuclear power plants. the space shuttle "atlantis" lands in the history books. we'll have the predawn ending to the shuttle program. the nfl owners gathering in atlanta. a sign that they could soon have a deal. professional football and its upcoming season have been in limbo since the lockout began in march. we begin with the nation's debt crisis. 11 days until the government runs out of money and lawmakers are quickly running out of options. on capitol hill, hopes appear to be fading for the bipartisan plan proposed by the gang of six. conservatives are rejecting the tax increases and liberals won't accept cuts to entitlement programs. now members of both parties are turning back to the mcconnell/reid plan. under the proposal, the

president raises the ceiling and lawmakers would agree to the spending cuts later. then there's this option. some lawmakers want to cherry pick elements of both proposals and just form a new one. we're covering the story from all angles. brianna keilar at the white house, kate bolduan on capitol hill. brianna, the president has changed his mind on whether he'd sign a short-term measure to increase the debt ceiling. but there's a caveat, right? >> reporter: there is a caveat, kyra. the caveat is that it wouldn't be something for an extended period of time. it would be, perhaps, a few days to increase the debt ceiling. if, really, the paperwork wasn't done on a more comprehensive larger deal to reduce the deficit. right now, as you know, the white house is still really pushing this plan by the gang of six or some sort of large plan that could get bipartisan support with a lot of moving parts. everything from tax reform to tax increases, which democrats want and republicans are resistant to. spending cuts and entitlement reform. they're still pushing that.

kyra, as you know, the clock is very much ticking. we're looking at really less than two weeks now and for a place really where, i mean, i think the heat index here today is going to be about 115. now we're finally watching the market starting to respond. the negotiators here are really starting to feel the heat both figuratively and literally. >> kate, there is a lot of speculation the gang of six plan might be a basis for a bipartisan agreement. now, a couple days have passed since it was unveiled. how is it being received on the hill now? >> reporter: a couple things on that, kyra. the gang themselves, those six members plus a few more, they're really pushing to gain more support, really trying to gain momentum. leaders in the house and senate haven't closed the door to the idea, many saying they like it in principle, they agree with it in principle. members and senators, they seem wary that they haven't gotten more detail of the plan that they want, some frustrated with the simple fact of the matter which is that even the members of this gang, kyra, say that

this plan, this gang of six plan, the large package is not ready for primetime. it's not going to be translated into legislative language in order to be the solution ahead of this august 2nd deadline. are frustrate first-degree itd, solution why are we talking about it? they're not closing the door on possibly talking about folding some elements of this grand package coming from the gang of six into possibly that fallback plan of senators reid and mcconnell, that they're working on. no word yet if that's actually happening. so there are a lot of moving parts still up here in terms of that package and where else we're going to head. >> brianna, we're 12 days out from august 2nd. >> reporter: that's right. we're so close. you know, certainly i know kate can speak to the fact that congress doesn't do anything on, you know, really short term. it takes time for legislation to go through congress and there isn't even a breakthrough yet, kyra. we saw in meetings yesterday between the president and he met with democrats and republicans separately, they came out of

those meetings, no breakthrough. but i think privately what you hear from administration officials is that there's a lot that can get done in two weeks. they're not ready to give up on a big deal. and they feel confident that certainly some sort of fallback is going to be worked out. but certainly this is starting to get very nerve-racking because, like i said, no breakthrough yesterday. people want to see some action. the markets want to see some action. and so far we're not there. >> brianna and kate, thanks, ladies. a smooth, safe and kind of sad homecoming this morning for the shuttle "atlantis." take a listen. >> having fired the imagination of a generation, a ship like no other, its place in history secured, the space shuttle pulls into port for the last time. its voyage, at an end. >> houston, after serving the world for over 30 years, the space shuttle has earned its place in history and has come to a final stop. >> nasa's shuttle program now officially retired.

john zarrella was there. >> reporter: the 135th and final space shuttle flight coming to an end in the predawn hours here at the kennedy space center just before sunlight. the shuttle "atlantis" commanded by christopher ferguson coming in in a perfect landing here at the shuttle landing facility. and as wheels touched down and then ferguson brought the vehicle to wheel stop, he had some poignant words on the end of an era. >> flying in space is a real dream. but flying in space, it has a lot more to do with who you do it with than what you do. and these three folks, rex and sandy and doug, i'll tell you. a commander couldn't ask for three better people to go and perform an aggressive and to a certain extent historic mission. >> reporter: it took about an hour and a half for the astronauts to get off of the orbiter. but as soon as they did, they were greeted by members of the

nasa family, the administrator charlie boldin meeting them. the launch director, mike linebach also meeting them. then commander ferguson went to the microphone and talked about what an extraordinary journey it had been, this shuttle program, and how he was now looking towards the future. >> we're going to put "atlantis" in a museum now. along with the other three orbiters. for generations that will come after us to admire and appreciate. and, hopefully, i want that picture of a young 6-year-old boy looking up at a space shuttle in a museum and -- and saying, you know, daddy, i want to do something like that when i grow up. or i want our country to do fantastic things like this for the continued future. and if we set those steps right now and they continue with that, that next generation of space explorers, then our consider our job here complete. >> reporter: "atlantis" will be towed from the runway over to what's known as the orbiter

processing facility where thousands of shuttle workers will be allowed to go out and look at the vehicle one more time up close. john zarrella, cnn, at the kennedy space center in florida. >> the end of the shuttle program is not winning the support of many americans. according to the latest cnn poll, half of all americans feel the end of the shuttle program is bad for the country. one-third say no effect. 16% believe the money can be used better elsewhere. rupert murdoch's performance before that british parliamentary committee on tuesday was good enough to bump his company's stock up. but the british and international press, not quite as impressed as investors. the latest headlines as the scandal -- talk of the scandal lives on. >> yeah, kyra. it's not fwoing anywhere any time soon. it's still the front page of many newspapers around the world. i want to share with you some of the headlines and what they're saying about this whole affair.

gulf news out of the uae has the headline shameful for murdoch to fein ignorance. more by his shameful ignorance of them. murdochgate is not about what murdoch did but more about what he did not do. then the guardian newspaper here in britain has the headline "this scandal has exposed the scale of elite corruption." the paper goes on to say the real frenzy isn't the exposure of the scandal. it's the scale of corruption, collusion and cover-up between news international, politicians and police that the scandal has revealed. kyra? >> all right. tabloid papers fwet readers by the millions. but the phone hacking scandal in the uk has some wonder ing ifthey've usefulne usefulness. in a moment the argument for "no so fast." what you do on social media websites could make or break that next job interview. the next generation of background checks is here. we'll tell you about it. plus, the nfl off season

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they're now behind closed doors right here behind me talking about what's going on. they had hoped that the players would have voted on and approved the labor agreement so they would have it in front of them as they got down to business today. but that hasn't happened. so all eyes here in atlanta with the owners will be watching what happens in washington, d.c., where the player reps are, to see if and when they vote on that agreement. that could happen today. and everyone we've talked to here expressing some optimism. some owners, the ones, the very few that were willing to talk, did say expect everything to go according to plan. particularly we talked to arthur blank, owner of the atlanta falcons. he said, don't expect any surprises today. listen. >> i don't think there'll be any surprises to any of the owners in their room about the nature of the deal and the specifics of it. having said that, you know, it has to be vetted and there'll be discussions and what have you. but i'm optimistic we'll get a

vote today and optimistly positive vote today and we'll be opening up training camps next week and looking forward to football. >> reporter: my last question is how concerned are you about what's going on? so we don't have a solid answer yet as to when will there be some football. but we are looking at the possibility now that if there's no agreement reached today and it continues to push day after day, it's going to start encroaching on the preseason, affecting those preseason games. everyone very mindful of that. because, kyra, that's when it starts cutting into the money that comes into the nfl. that's what this fight has all been about. kyra? >> david mattingly live in atlanta, thanks. let's check stories cross country. in kansas city, missouri, the sweltering heat may be contributing to the 13 deaths have have happened already. cooling centers around the city open. the brutal temps are expected to continue through the end of the month. in fall river, massachusetts, maybe you recall this grim story from last month. a women drowns in a busy public pool.

her body sits at the bottom of it for more than two days before discovered. then public pools are shut down. now an investigation reveals that cloudy water may be partly to blame for not finding her. up in rochester, new york, a hero's welcome. >> abby wambach! >> we all know the name. women's world cup scoring machine. one of the stars of the u.s. team that almost clinched the cup, but unfortunately came in second to japan. so what do you do -- or what you do, rather, on social media sites could actually make or break that next job interview of yours. we're going to take a look at the next generation of background checks. in sports, tiger woods fires his long-time caddie, steve williams. and williams speaks out.

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the media scandal that has outraged great britain widens today. we're learning police have uncovered enough information to expand their investigation beyond the murdoch media empire. it appears other tabloids and other companies may have used similar sleazy tactics such as hacking phones or bribing police officers. the concerns now ripple across the tabloid industry. surely only the most degraded, low minded people could produce this kind of news. that's exactly what a news analyst said back in 1936 when referring to tabloids. well, there's still a lot of people out there who feel that way. especially given the huge hacking scandal in britain. but our next guest says, hold on a minute. before you judge, consider this. he writes, tabloid journalism

can actually be an important player in our modern culture. he wrote an op-ed piece for the "new york times," why we need the tabloids. he joins us live out of los angeles. ryan, good to see you. >> good to see you. thanks for having me. >> all right. you actually say the vast majority of tabloids carry out their coverage, quote, above board. give me -- give me an example of that. >> well, i think for me, what i think is interesting about the "news of the world" scandal is that i think people have used the very egregious and illegal tactics used by some of the "news of the world" journalists and editors to extrapolate broader claims about the tabloid press in general as if all tabloids act in that way. but as we know, as with cases such as john edwards and his infidelities which were leaked by american tabloid newspapers, this was carried out in an above board way and actually was an

important and -- >> i think a lot of people were shocked that the "national enquirer" actually broke that story and got it right. everybody followed up on that. it was interesting to see how people even questioned the fact that the paper broke that story. you make a good point. but when you look at the covers of tabloids, and i think we've got a couple examples here. do we have -- here we go. the "national enquirer." okay? 250 pound kirsty collapses. she breaks down after new diet failure. i'm fat and look like hell. that's an example of here in the u.s. then you've got the sun. exclusive baby face father of the dad at 13. i guess when you see covers like this, you wonder, how is that, i guess, an important player in our modern culture? how is that above board journalism? >> well, it's -- i think that --

i think i'm glad you showed those two, actually. because i think that the tabloids do, i think, two things simultaneously. one of which is to tell stories about elites, about celebrities, about politicians, about people, about royalty. and to tell them in a way that allows a certain amount of access into their lives from people who are -- that live a much different way. so kind of ordinary people are allowed to access the lives of the elite. and also told in a way that is meant to humiliate and yet degrade the people that are on display, which i think actually serves an important social function in the sense that it mitigates some of the social inequalities that are veryendur. and allows for, you know, the popular audience to feel a certain sense of mastery over social elites. i think that's one thing. i think the dad at 13 is interesting. this i think the tabloids also

on the other hand are really about exposing private information about very ordinary people that happen to be involved in extraordinary circumstances. >> it's interesting points to make for sure. because tabloids, you know, many tombs, you know, they've really hurt a lot of people with stories that in the end really don't matter. it's an interesting read, for sure. read it "new york times" in the if you haven't seen it yet. go online. ryan linkof, thanks so much. >> thank you. >> you bet. your showbiz headlines. it looks like entourage will live on. at hbo's red carpet premiere of the show's final season, cast member kevin connolly was talking movie. >> you are going to get a movie. it's just a matter of when. we just want to do it the right way. we can just go hammer one out, but we don't want to end a successful eight-year run on a show with a crappy movie. >> the normally cheeky actress mila kunis was a little less so in "friends with benefits." she tells ryan seacrest that

that's not her backside exposed in the movie which opens friday. she says they actually used a body double. kunis says she's not really going to let it all hang out on film just yet. take a look at these. never before seen photos of the beatles. 1964 from their very first performance in the u.s. at the washington coliseum. the pictures went for more than $350,000 at a new york auction. what you have posted years ago on a social media website could come back to haunt you if you're looking for a job. alison kosik at the new york stock exchange with more on this story. alison, it is kind of frightening that there are companies now that can go online and find out every single thing about you. you know? >> makes you feel smart, doesn't it, without that facebook page of yours, kyra. >> see? exactly. it's the first reason why i said that's why i don't do it. this is giving me some justice, i guess. >> there you go. so, yeah. you talked about these companies that do this. one of them think this is really

a new trend. it's called social intelligence. what this company does is it searches the internet to find information about prospective job candidates. it actually compiles a file on that person. it collects both positive and negative information. you know, the good stuff like charitable work, the honors you've gotten and, of course, the bad stuff. the racist remarks you've made online, sexually explicit fphots you've done or illegal activity, making looking for oxycontin on craigslist. it gives all this information to your prospective employer. think of it as a preemployment screening of sorts. the ceo says, guess what? there's a lot of interest. a little surprise there, kyra. >> oh, yeah. are there legal issues? there's got to be some. >> well, this is legal for this company to do. they only reveal what's allowed by law. the company does not provide information on your sexual orientation, your religion, your race, your political affiliation. and it's important -- there's an important point here as well. it has to let the job candidate

know beforehand that it's going to do this. and the ceo says, you know what, most candidates they don't have negative things come out. but there are a lot of sexually explicit pictures out there. lesson to everybody. don't post those naked photos of yourself on facebook. the reality is here, most companies, they're going to google you anyway. social intelligence. the company says this way is far better because it's more fair. because if a company -- if the employer actually googles, you may find somebody else with the same name and confuse you or find information they're not legally allowed to consider. like race, religion. the company says rely on us. we'll get the legal information for you to decide, kyra. >> it's amazing how much there is out there and how easy it is to get it. michelle obama talks a playful shot and jokes to a magazine that she's in better shape than her husband. who would you rather work out with? political buzz is next. [ male announcer ] there's more than one

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political buzz, your rapid fire look at the hottest political topics of the day.

three questions, 20 seconds on the clock. playing today, democratic strategist maria cardones. cnn contributor will cain. first question, guys, john mccain warns gop house members to remember 1995. that government shutdown is often credited for clinton's successful re-election in '96. will they listen? maria? >> i think they should listen unless they want to commit political suicide. two things have come out in recent polls the gop needs to be concerned a eed about. the majority of americans believe there should be spending cuts as well as new tax revenues. the second is obama and the democrats have been much more willing to negotiate than republicans have. both bad things for the gop. >> will? >> will they listen? i hope so as well. let me just say this. the narrative, that there's been some grand bargain, some deal to be had, house republicans are holding up just got blown up completely. now that there's a real plan out there, the gang of six plan, who

do we see putting up a big fight to it? the congressional black kcaucus. this is a bipartisan problem. >> pete? >> yeah. i think john mccain is being a practical politician. so are maria's remarks just then. but i don't think that these tea party republicans in the house are being practical. they did not get elected to compromise. they didn't get elected really to govern. they got elected on this issue of cutting spending. they don't care about getting re-elected. john mccain and most politicians do. they don't care about the party. they care about the idea. >> okay, guys. day three of the michele bachmann migraine coverage. we're putting it out there. what do you think? are there undercurrents of sexism? maria? >> i think we should definitely keep an eye on it. it's two things. i think she hasn't really answered the questions as to how debilitating this is for her. secondly, she's not really saying anything else that's come peming that the media can cover. it's either going to be the

migraines or repartive therapy that her husband and her clinic offer homosexuals. take your pick. >> will? >> kyra, i don't think there's sexism. at first i was -- i thought, if this was barack obama or anybody else, it'd be just as big a story. but i have to say at this point it has gotten a little blown out of proportion. but i don't think it's because of sex. i think it's because it's michele bachmann. i'm no fan of michele bachmann. but ask yourself this. if this story were about hillary clinton having migraines, would it be just as big? >> pete? >> well, listen. george washington had no teeth. abraham lincoln bipolar. fdr had polio. jfk had chronic pain. bill clinton was addicted to women outside of his wife. every presidential candidate gets scrutinized about everything. john mccain they said might have been too old. sexism? no. but may i say, kyra, your hair makes you look exceptionally hot today. that's sexist as opposed to me saying, you know, you're

talented and you work so hard to anchor a newsroom for two hours every day. that is a good compliment. >> i'll take both, okay, as i turn really red here. maria, i might ask you to help me out. your buzz room beater. ten seconds. michelle obama jokes to a magazine that she's in better shape than the president. pete, no comments about my body, please. who would you rather work out with? will? >> i guess the first lady since it's apparently more of a challenge. >> maria? >> kyra, i think you look hot, too, for the record. but i would rather work out with michelle obama because i don't play basketball. i don't play golf. i am a gym rat. have you seen the guns on the first lady? would love to know what her workout is for her arms. >> show us your guns, maria? pete, i'll let you talk while we look at her guns. >> there you go. >> all right. let me just be fair to everybody here. maria, she looks great. will cain is looking exceptionally hot. look at this guy. look at the hair. who would i rather work out

with? i'd rather play basketball with the president, lift weights with the first lady. but i want to take both of them to yoga. ohm. ohm. >> peace. meditate on that. believe me, i need a little meditation today. thank you, pete, will, maria. you're all three hot. >> thank you. >> all right. see you tomorrow. listen up jen y me liney jo. cnn's deb faeyerick has the scoop. >> reporter: in this hip washington, d.c., cafe, connections are being made as fast as the lattes. the event is called network roulette. like speed dating, but online, it pairs general yers with job recruiters, mentors and peers

offering advice. 27-year-old sbe preneuroryan heely traded his job as a financial consultant to create brazen careerist.com. built as a job support website for high achievers, the site partners with businesses. some of them fortune 500 companies willing to shell out thousands of dollars to meet me llenials. >> you can follow up with five or ten of them and add them to your network. you can say, hey, i'm interested in this job opportunity. >> reporter: city recruiter amy ing is among 50 companies tapping into gen y online. >> it becomes an efficient way for us to connect with a wide range of candidates we might not otherwise meet. >> reporter: candidates like these who brought their laptops and digital resumes to network and meet us in person. by a show of hands, how many of you are employed right now? this group includes a project

manager, e-mail marketing manager, and social media analyst. all good jobs, but not quite perfect. >> we'll try the private sector and then we'll try nonprofit. we really want to put our mark on the world in multiple ways. >> reporter: that means holding on to a job about 18 months at a time. >> a lot of the jobs our parents' generation worked. we get to invent new careers. >> i think your generation is -- >> reporter: heely and his team say they've sponsored more than 75 of these events. >> people in generation y have been told they can be whatever they want to be and do whatever they want to do since they were kids. the goal is to be happy. to find meaning. they're figuring that out as they go. you don't always get it right. you've got to try new things. that's okay. because you're searching for that thing that you really want to do. you'll know when you find it. >> reporter: finding it before the responsibilities of family and a mortgage kick in. all these young people really see the traditional job as going

away. they're going to reinvent all these jobs. they're the next generation of competition. they're after your job. they're looking for work, but they're looking for mean ing. they don't define themselves by what they do. ryan heelly said if you want to look for a job, the best thing to do, start a blog. all of those -- i want to call them kids -- all of those young people have them. kyra? >> all your kids are blogging, deb. it's true. they are. they're all very young. what the heck? >> exactly. it shows how they think, what they're doing, what they're feeling, what they're experiencing. so they're really communicating in a way that, you know, that there's much less privatesy. because they're out there. they're living it. >> yeah. i know. it gives so many people too much legitimacy many times, deb. thanks. all right. they've been through a lot. plenty of wins and a few losses. more on the big sports news of the morning. tiger woods fires his long-time caddie, steve williams. steve is speaking out. in here, the planned combination of at&t and t-mobile would deliver our next generation mobile broadband experience

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lots of wins. a few losses. and a sex scandal of epic proportion. long-time caddie steve williams stuck with tiger woods through thick and thin. but somewhere in between, there was a division. woods fired williams. and, today, williams is speaking out. >> i'm extremely disappointed. given the fact that the last 18 months has been a particularly difficult time for tiger. the scandal, a new coach, swing change. the last 18 months has been very difficult. i've stuck by him through thick and thin. i've been incredibly loyal. and then, you know, and then to have this happen, i mean, basically you could say i've wasted two years of my life. >> wow. cnn international's don rodell live in london with this developing story. there's a lot of questions out there now, don, wondering if he's that upset, i mean, can you imagine his tell-all book? >> well, it's interesting,

actually. what would he put in the book? of course, when the tiger scandal broke, steve williams quite famously came out and said i didn't know any of this was going on. that will now be put to the test, won't it? it's interesting hearing williams talk there. he sounds a bit like a jilted lover. he's the guy that wasn't responsible for the break-up. tiger has also released a statement. he said stevie is an outstanding caddie and a friend and has been instrumental in many of my accomplishments. i wish him great success in the future. sounds to me like tiger perhaps feels a little bit awkward about causing the split. steve williams not taking it at all well. but, you know, these guys formed an absolutely formidable relationship. they worked together for 12 years during which time they won 13 major titles and 50 other pga tour titles. i can't think of another golfing partnership that's been as audiocasset successful as them. the tournaments have dried up. tiger hasn't won anything since the end of 2009.

in that situation, the first thing to change is that the caddie goes. >> don, you wonder, what is this telling us? is tiger imploding? i mean, he's got these injuries. he's not playing as well. he's losing all his sponsorships. his wife is dating now. and now he gets rid of his caddie who's, like, one of the only individuals that spoke out in support of him and was so loyal to him. is it because he's going broke or he's just blowing up? >> well, who knows. it could be all of the above. some people within the golfing community still say that tiger will return to his best. he was the world's number one for so long. right now he's only the 20th best golfer in the world. as i said, he hasn't won for more than 18 months. the injuries he's got are really serious. this achilles injury, this knee problem. he's had so many knee issues. is he ever going to get back to his best? who knows. this might be a good thing for williams, you know. he is considered to be the best caddie on the tour. he's now going off to work with

adam scott who's a really promising player from australia. so, you noknow, in the end it might turn out that williams has the best deal. it's the golfer responsible for these decisions. it's tiger's responsibility. he obviously feels he needs a change. perhaps with a new caddie, he can return to his winning ways. there are some within the golfing world who think perhaps tiger really is past his best. >> yeah. the next person to talk to will be adam scott. he really scored big here. don, thanks so much. appreciate you weighing in. the nation's mortgage crisis, countless americans lost hope. many of them lost their homes. now hundreds of thousands of people getting a check in the mail. we'll tell you who's paying and why. hey, the new guy is loaded with protein! really? 25 grams of protein. what do we have? all four of us, together? 24. he's low fat, too,

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nearly a half million americans will soon have a check in their mailbox. you may be among them. if you've been a customer of countrywide financial in the past few years you might be in luck. alison kosik, how much money are victims going to get? >> they're going to get a total of $108 million. this is what the settlement is calling for. it's actually one of the biggest settlements in ftc history. it's stunning when you think about that these countrywide borrowers, 450,000 of them were taken advantage of. remember countrywide? it was this huge company during the subprime mortgage meltdown. it was eventually saved by bank of america. let's talk about the money. the average check that's going to go out is just about 240 bucks. the ftc says some people will get a few thousand dollars. these payments will begin going out today. it covers bow rowers, once again, who were overcharged by countrywide. kyra? >> alison kosik from the new york stock exchange, thanks.

let's take a look at stories that are going to be making headlines later today. next hour former pakistan president pervez musharraf gives a speech. on u.s. pakistan relations. at noon the crew of space shuttle "atlantis" will give a news conference. they landed at kennedy space center this morning. house republicans calling on the senate to pass the cut cap balance spending bill. we'll hear from them this afternoon. they're scheduled to have a news conference 12:45 eastern time. a minnesota community divided by a school district's curriculum policy on sexual orientation. now a federal investigation and a lawsuit by a civil rights group. we've got the story. [ female announcer ] investing for yourself is a necessity.

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so when is talk about homosexuality okay in the classroom? just outside minneapolis one school district's policy on the matter is igniting a culture war. cnn has learned the departments of justice and education are investigating incidents of bullying and harassment in minnesota's largest school district. here's cnn's poppy harlow. >> those are samantha's swimsuits. another one hanging here. i just can't put it away. >> reporter: a swimsuit hanging lifeless since november 2009 when michelle johnson's only daughter took her own life. >> we believe that she was just hiding from everybody because she was feeling hopeless. samantha was kind of a tomboy. and she -- she was perceived as

gay. >> reporter: was she gay? >> no. we don't think she was gay. she was 13. >> reporter: samantha was the first of seven students to commit suicide in a single minnesota school district in less than two years. parents and friends tell us four of those teens were either gay, perceived to be gay or questioning their sexuality. and at least two of them were bullied over it. erica hoops was samantha's best friend. >> yeah. she didn't feel safe anywhere. during volleyball, they would call her names like fag and be like, go over to the boys' locker room. you shouldn't be in here. >> reporter: was the bullying part of the reason, you think, erica, that your best friend killed herself? >> most definitely. there's no question about it. >> reporter: allegations of bullying have brought unwanted media attention. and cnn has learned a federal investigation to this quiet suburban community. we're about 30 minutes outside

of minneapolis in anoka hen pin. this is the biggest school district in the entire state. but the reason we're here is because it has become a battleground over homosexuality in the classroom. this is the only minnesota school district we could find with a curriculum policy that bars teachers from taking a position on homosexuality. and says such matters are best addressed outside of school. it's become known as the neutrality policy. and some teachers say it's part of the problem. >> because there's so much we can't do and say to help create a more accepting and affirming and welcoming environment that would eliminate some of that bullying in the first place. >> reporter: in a school newsletter and in a voice mail to staff, superintendent dennis carlson denies any connection between bullying and the suicides. >> all of the information we've been able to gather, none of the suicides were connected to

incidents of bullying or harassment. >> reporter: carlson says the district has a comprehensive bullying policy and has piloted a bullying tip line. he says the neutrality policy is a reasonable response to a divided community. >> it's a diverse community. and what i try to do as superintendent is walk down the middle of the road. >> reporter: but one teacher is ready to take on the district. are you afraid that you could lose your job just being here talking about this? >> realistically, yeah. >> reporter: just this week, the anoka hennepin school district announced it's keeping that neutrality policy in place. one of the advocacy groups behind this case says any resolution must include a repeal, full repeal of the policy. the fplc has just confirmed to cnn they are indeed filing a lawsuit today against that school district. the fplc was present for cnn

interviews involving its clients. the school district has asked the southern poverty law center and national center for lesbian rights to help them in training school staff to support gay students. the advocacy groups tell us that is not going far enough for them. cnn also learned the departments of justice and education are investigating a complaint of incidents involving bullying and harassment in that school district. while the school district tells us they've had, quote, collaborative discussions with federal authorities, the doj confirms their investigation, kyra, is ongoing. a lot more on this story, the full investigation, sunday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern. >> okay. once again, tell our viewers, poppy, that you can see this this weekend, 8:00 p.m. sunday, right here on cnn. it's actually going to be a compilation of three amazing stories. it's something that we're calling a unique hour of razor sharp journalism. don't miss the all new cnn presents sunday night, 8:00. all right. the next hour of "cnn newsroom," they're wired and they're tweeting.

but is social media turning america's youth into the laziest generation? we're going to take a hard look at those millennials. some stand by their man. rupert murdoch's wife stood up for hers. her fast action has already turned her into a cult hero in china. we'll learn more about deng when the newsroom continues. woman: saving for our child's college fund was getting expensive. man: yes it was. so to save some money, we taught our 5 year old how to dunk. woman: scholarship!

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north carolina. pretty terrifying moment for a mom and her daughter. she was playing in less than two feet of water. then the 6-year-old was bitten by a shark right there in front of her mom. she's in critical condition, but apparently well enough to tell her parents, i hate sharks and like dolphins better. this denver's bill burnham. he's been doing what he's doing for a pretty long time. giving blood. and he does it best. he was actually honored for donating 65 gallons of blood since 1984. that's enough to help about 1,500 people. it's also enough to fill about two big bathtubs full of blood. it's so hot in new haven, connecticut, that this bridge has literally been swollen shut. the grand avenue bridge is a swing bridge that opens up to let boats go through there on the quinnipiac river. the problem is the heat has caused the bridge to expand and now it's stuck. so crews are out there trying to shave about an inch off of it to get it open again before the

weekend. it's starting to sound like a broken record. the debt ceiling debate continues. debt ceiling debate continues. cnn white house correspondent brianna keilar is going to say the same thing. the debt ceiling debate continues. >> the debt ceiling debate does continue, kyra. and after those meetings yesterday that the president had with democrats and republicans, no breakthrough. you've heard me say that before as well. senator mitch mcconnell, top republican in the senate, taking to the senate floor this morning and really kind of blasting the president. he's working right now, mcconnell is, on fashioning a fallback plan with senate majority leader harry reid. he said on the floor that he pays more attention to what the president does than what he said. and he really questioned the president's recent -- i guess sort of overtures of being a compromiser and a fiscal moderate essentially accusing the president of political posturing. kyra, as you know, the white house continuing to push for a really big deficit reduction package. although the clock is ticking and that's appearing more and

more unlikely as time goes by. >> all right. so how are states preparing for this debt ceiling default? >> you know, they are preparing. they're getting loans, for instance, california has sought a $5 billion loan to make sure that it can cover its obligations. because check out the kind of cash that the federal government gives state and local governments. last year $478 billion. you can see how they're really relying on this influx of federal cash. so if states -- if there is a default, mind you, democrats and republicans are insisting, kyra, i've said this before, too, that there isn't going to be one come august 2nd. but if there were, states would be impacted. they could see delays in federal payments for medicaid. they could see delays in money that they need for transportation and education. so they're taking precautions. there's a really good write, a really good cnn money write on the ticker right now you can check out to see exactly what they're doing. >> brianna, thanks. your next political update in just about an hour. for all the latest political news head to your website, cnn